Split (3)

train · 273k rows

title stringlengths 0 299	text list
How do people who release leaks on to torrent websites originally obtain them ex. Game of thrones	[ "There's three reasons why TV shows or any other media is leaked:\n\n- The production crew is huge usually hundreds of people. Someone such as an intern could easily steal a tape from an editor or someone in a similar position and then go home and upload it to the internet.\n\n- The company producing the show also ...
When we say someone has a "good" or "poor" vocabulary, how many words more or less are in their functional command?	[ "Depending on who you ask, there are around a million English words. You can take vocabulary tests that check you know just a couple of hundred words, chosen to cover a wide range, and they tend to tell you how many \"word families\" you know. The idea of a word family is explained as\n\n > words such as nation, n...
What happened to /r/circlejerk?	[ "/r/atheism and /r/politics are two subreddits that provided a lot of material /r/circlejerk can make fun of. The joke is that since those two were removed from the default subreddit list, there's a lot less circlejerky material and what is left needs to be rationed. That it doesn't make any sort of actual sense is...
Why airports can't group planes by carrier?	[ "Generally speaking, they do, within reasonable size limits and the like.", "My experience is that most airports are divided up by the airline and within those sections there are gates that are designed for a certain range of craft sizes. Most jetbridges can accommodate a wide range of sizes so the real restrict...
Bo Xilai scandal?	[ "There is accusation (but no solid public proof) that there is a lot more going on.\n\nBo Xilai was in charge of the district housing China's 5th largest city (Chongqing) and it's largest non-coastal city. He and his wife had become celebrities both because they are young and knew how to work the media, used populi...
What a Roth IRA is and when it is a smart investment choice	[ "A Roth IRA is an account you create that has tax advantages over other investment accounts. If you make contributions into the Roth IRA and keep them in the account until you turn 59 1/2, then you can take distributions from the account tax free. There is a catch, though. If you take distributions from the account...
Do American citizens have a right to freedom of information?	[ "There is an overriding concept in the American view of government: All government information is public unless there is a really good reason for it not to be.\n\nThe law in most jurisdictions reflects this: citizens have a right to government information unless that information has been, by law, specifically exclu...
Why do bees store honey	[ "Honey is the bees' food, so they store it for times like winter when they can't harvest flower nectar to turn into honey." ]
When public bathrooms are moving more to no-touch required basins \ soap dispensers \ dryers, why do 95% of the doors open inwards, so that you have to pull a handle as you leave.	[ "Doors that open outwards may be blocked from the other side. So, a person may be trapped inside by being unable to push. By opening a door inwards, it greatly reduces the chance of the door not being able to be opened.\n\nA bathroom tends not to have any secondary exits.\n\nThis is a researched guess on my part....
The FCC Narrowbanding Mandate	[ "'Narrowbanding' is the FCC's new term for what used to be called 'refarming,' but both terms mean the same thing: Broadcasters adopting narrower bandwidth. In this case, the Commission mandates that VHF and UHF broadcasters classified as Public Safety and Industrial/Business land mobile radio (LMR) change from a m...
Why do movies/TV shows/commercials always seem to use empty opaque cups (i.e. a coffee cup) or other containers, when a simpleton like me can easily spot that they're empty just by watching?	[ "Continuity, if they use real drinks in a clear glass, and the scene requires them to take a drink, they would have to refill the glass to the exact original spot for each take (and a film can do up to 10 takes for each scene). And the actors would have drunk an unholy of water by the end. It saves a lot of trouble...
Can humans survive on ONLY vegetables, no drinks?	[ "No. We are not designed to get our water only from food and you cannot get sufficient amounts from just eating fruits and vegetables. In fact it is fairly difficult to get all the nutrients we need just from vegetables. You have to supplement with things like Algae, nuts, etc.", "No, you need water to survive. \...
Why does my voice sound weird to me when I listen to it on a recording?	[ "When you normally hear your own voice you hear it echoing through your skull. You don't get that effect from a recording.", "Sound travels at about 1000 feet per second, and a sound must be delayed at least about 20/1000 second (20 feet of travel) for you to hear an echo... so no, there's no echo in your head.\n...
Do today's video games keep you playing like casinos do, throwing you wins once in a while to keep you playing longer?	[ "There have been news recently of a patent filed by Activision for a system designed to goad players into buying more microtransaction items by doing things like matching them up against better players with premium items that the manipulated player doesn't have, to make them believe that they would be more successf...
Why does it hurt to move a limb after it "fell asleep"?	[ "You have nerves in your body that send signals to different parts to work-- specifically muscles. They begin from your spinal cord, branch, and extend all the way to your fingers and toes. Your arm or leg falls asleep when pressure is placed on the nerve or when blood is cut off from supplying the nerve. The ef...
- Why do smells get "burned in" to your nose? (Bleach, vomit, etc)	[ "It's because those particles are in aerosols, little droplets of water with other things mixed in. And those droplets get in your nose and deposit their contents on the mucosal lining. Eventually you secrete enough mucus to wrap them all up, you swallow that, and it's gone. But until that time you can still smel...
What is wrong with means testing?	[ "(UK) Sometimes implementing it is more expensive than just giving the benefit to everyone who claims it (eg UK child benefit)\n\nSometimes it misses the point (e.g. child benefit could be claimed directly by mothers who weren't working which in some cases acted as support for the kids where there was a dysfunction...
How do the companies that sponsor benefit from having game shows give away their products to contestants?	[ "I was on a game show with my family once and the show had a specific rule. \"If we offer a prize you act excited. You clap, cheer, etc. if you miss out on a prize, act disappointed. Whether or not you like the prize, or already own the prize, you will make that prize seem like the best thing in the world or we'll ...
Why Muzzle velocity is measured in feet per second rather than mph/kph.	[ "Because bullets generally travel in units of feet rather than units of miles and the United States uses the Imperial system rather than the metric system for common units of measure.", "Gravity will pull a bullet to the ground at the same rate as if it were just dropped. It takes roughly half a second for someth...
How come after drinking a lot of beer (calories), I want to eat something bad for me (more calories).	[ "This is going to be a very simple explanation, there are a lot of biological factors involved but this is basically it.\n\nAlcohol is a depressant, when you get drunk your consciousness decreases based on how much you drink. When this happens, people tend to become very instinctual. You start trying to fulfill you...
What is the difference between hard and soft water?	[ "Hard water has more minerals dissolved in it (calcium etc); you soften water by adding salt, which binds to the minerals. Hard water can leave mineral deposits throughout the system, and makes soap difficult to lather." ]
How do people die of Heatstroke before Dehydration?	[ "your body has a limited ability to cool itself. so heatstroke without dehydration would be something where your body temp gets too high but you still have water in your body." ]
Why are there holes in Swiss Cheese?	[ "Basically: Cheese is milk that has gone bad because bacteria breed in it. The bacteria fart while breeding. The farts make up the holes and the stink of the cheese.", "During the cheese making process carbon dioxide is releasedd. The holes come from the gasses escaping from the cheese.", "Ahoy, matey! Yer not ...
What mental effects does catnip have on a cat?	[ "Catnip isn't psychoactive. It smells a lot like kitty pheromones. A cat's reaction to catnip is a reaction to feline sexy-time smell. [Here's](_URL_0_) a neat iO9 article about it.", "\"The most intense catnip experience is an olfactory one—your cat smells the herb and promptly goes nuts. Researchers aren't sure...
why were tv and movies black and white?	[ "Because the technology of how to create black and white photographs and moving pictures came first.\n\nTelevision at first was black and white too even though color movies already existed at that point.\n\nThe technology to make color-tv was more expensive than b & w tv and the receivers for color were also more e...
Why are people with a latex allergy also allergic to bananas? What's the connection?	[ "The banana contains a protein which is very similar in chemical structure to latex. So if you're sensitive to one, there's about a 50% chance that you're sensitive to the other as well.\n\n_URL_0_" ]
How does memory get stored in HDs, SSDs, and ram?	[ "That is a complex question.\n\nThere are quite some different methods used to save the data. \n\nPut simply SSD and HD are non volatile memory while the ram in your computer is volatile. Meaning if there is no power - the ram loses the stored information.\n\nHD with a spinning magnet disk work by changing the nort...
why it goes vitamin A to E, then jumps to K. What happened to F to J?	[ "Most of them were renamed upon being grouped into the B Vitamin group; for example vitamin G was the old name for riboflavin, which later became known as vitamin B2.\n\nVitamin F was different: It was the old name for essential fatty acids, which were considered vitamins at the time of their discovery but have sin...
Why are Jews (race not religion) not considered to be Arab?	[ "Because they descend from Semitic, not Arabic origins. They are more closely related to Persians, who are also not Arab.", "Arabs are a pretty diverse group and the term has evolved to be based more on linguistics than genetics. I think most studies have shown that Jews (even Askhenazi ones) are closer to Pales...
Why helicopters and planes can't get out of the earth?	[ "They need to push down on the air to keep flying. In space, there's no air to push down on. Eventually, the air becomes so thin that you can't push enough of it down to keep yourself up.\n\nYou can swim in water, because it's dense, and you can push water down and pull yourself up as a result. Now try swimming in ...
If all humans switched to a plant based diet, and all meat, dairy and egg industries disappeared, how would this new and increased demand for plants based foods affect the environment?	[ "The animals we grow to make meat, milk and eggs contribute to half of global greenhouse gas. This number takes into account not only the fossil fuels used to produce and transport livestock before and after slaughter, but also the other gasses that livestock produce on their own. These various gasses are referre...
If an adult didn't learn certain things during the critical period, will it be very difficult for them to learn them?	[ "I think based on science it is possible, but it will be extremely difficult. One suggestion is to try and keep a positive attitude, and try to learn. \n\nEdit: hard work normally pays off." ]
How dangerous is turbulence on a commercial flight? What are the risks, and how high are they?	[ "Pilot of a variety of types of aircraft here:\n\nAircraft are certified to a variety of standards based on intended use. At the very least, they're designed to handle any turbulence nature can throw at it and then some, plus usually a 150% safety margin provided the pilot operates the aircraft in a certain manner....
- Gabriel's horn, I just don't get it.	[ "The small tail end keeps going indefinitely, thus the surface area keeps going (since the surface area is calculated by multiplying by the length, which is an infinite number.). \n\nBefore we talk about volume, remember that 0.999999999999..... = 1. \n\n99.9999% of the volume is at the larger end of the cone and i...
Why is there a militia occupying the Malheur Wildlife refuge.	[ "So... There are ranchers in Oregon named the Hammonds. It is typical to set land on fire to kill weeds (this is called a controlled burn). Some weeds won't be killed unless they are burnt. So, they set some of their land on fire to kill weeds. Now, the land bordered federally-owned land. The fire spread onto ...
Morse code. Is it, it's own language or is it in English? How did it become universal?	[ "Morse code isn't a language, it's an alphabet, although it uses the same letters as english. Individual letters are signified with a combination of dots and dashes, and words are spelled out as per normal. So you can use morse code with whatever language is compatible with the letters you have available to you."...
Why do cats go crazy when you rub the base of their tail?	[ "Wouldn't you go crazy if someone rubbed the base of your tail?" ]
Can someone explain to me the significance of the Lucy fossil andwhy its a big deal?	[ "Here is an overview of the Hominin family tree as it stands...I've added a few more details about Lucy's species A. afarensis.\n\nQuick Facts\n\n* Humans are primates. All species classified as primate belong to the same order Primates.\n\n* Primates evolved about 60-70 million years ago. There are many diff...
How can a doctor/dentist/optometrist etc. practice in a state and not accept the sate's insurance?	[ "It's not state run or federally run health care in the US. It's still a choice for the doctors on whether or not to participate. For most it's what keeps the patients coming so they do it. The ones who don't have either decided the hassle of dealing w/ the plan isn't worth it or they're so busy they don't need the...
Would eating a bunch of cooked bacteria be nutritionally similar to eating cooked meat?	[ "Don't know about bacteria but I can find nutritional information on nutritional yeast. Yeast are single-celled organisms but they're technically fungi & not bacteria. Here's the nutritional information from a 100g serving:\n\n \| Yeast \| Beef (cooked) \|\n-\|--------\|------\|\ncalories \| 281 \| 211\ncalories from f...
Can someone explain what it is about music theory that allows pretty much every song to be mashed with eachother in a way that fits?	[ "Songwriters are unimaginative. They use the same stupid chord progressions and scales and rhythms over and over and over and over again. \n\nThe energy of a song is largely independent of the scale/harmony, so that's no barrier. Key doesn't matter because you just shift one song or the other up or down until the t...
The RNA world hypothesis	[ "Currently: DNA- > RNA- > protein=functional enzymes\n\nDNA codes for proteins that are enzymes that do things in your body such as copying DNA.\n\nAs it so happens, RNA can perform both functions: holding information and acting as an enzymes.\n\nThe RNA world hypothesis is that RNA was the first biopolymer and per...
Why do governments want to avoid a current account defecit?	[ "Taxing imports has little to do with mitigating deficit. It's more about protecting national industries from foreign competition.\n\nOn one side, you might have one particular good being produced in your country that costs more than their foreign counterparts with similar quality, so the national industry can't se...
Question about light and my fan	[ "If your bike light s an LED, it's not really varying in intensity, it's just strobing, the moving fan blades highlight the strobe effect." ]
Why horn player's call musical notes different names.	[ "The main reason for this is so that when you learn to play a horn, you don't have to re-learn everything to play a higher or lower horn.\n\nFor example, consider the saxophone family. There's exactly one fingering for the \"G\" in the middle of the treble clef - three main fingers down with the left hand, none wit...
The difference between aftershave/perfumes and eau de toilette.	[ "aftershaves- theyre basically lotion in the disguise of a nice smelling perfume. its a little safer to put on your face, and they have slight chemicals in them that soothe freshly shaved skin. its almost like a lotion in the form and scent of perfume.\n\nperfume- this is generally the highest in concentration leve...
Why is it sometimes economically rational to keep loss-making firms afloat?	[ "Three reasons:\n\n1. Because the firm's existence provides more benefit than just its direct economic impact. In your example, it's possible that quick access to British made ships provides more good for more British firms and consumers than buying ships abroad. Banks are an unfortunate example of this, as we in t...
Chemically, what happens to your body (brain) when you can’t stop laughing?	[ "I'm just guessing but it could be related to some activity in one of the Many cannabinoid receptors which are known to be able to send people into awesome fits of laughter when exposed to oral or smoked cannabis.\nInteresting question I must say", "Theory only but I would think that it's some kind of brain loop....
What makes C++ a better language than C? Or in other words, what are all the advantages of Object-Oriented Programming?	[ "Object-oriented helps keep track of things in a logical, reusable, and extendable structure.\n\nThink about a video game. In a video game, there are plenty of characters on the screen. Every character has a model and a location in the world. With classes, you can make a \"character\" class that holds all that c...
How does applying heat to something actually relieve the pain?	[ "It depends upon the kind of pain. For muscle aches, heat causes blood vessels to relax and dialate. This means more nutrients are going into the area, promoting healing and carrying away toxins faster.\n\nFor other sorts of pain - like a burn or an area swollen with infection, apply heat is a terrible idea. C...
Sometimes when I go to bed, I fall asleep for 15 minutes and wake up completely refreshed and unable to fall back asleep for hours. How does this happen?	[ "And how is it when I sleep for 12 hours, I wake up as though I didn't sleep at all", "Same thing happens to me every night. Inquiring minds want to know..", "Does this happen to many other people? \n\nOP, are you depressed? This same thing happens to me. I'll fall asleep when tired, then wake up and have too m...
What is the objective or telos of ISIS? Are we doing them a favor by feeding attention to the beheading videos?	[ "They want to create (at this point it's more appropriate to say expand) a Caliphate - basically one big over-arching Muslim nation ostensibly led by a successor of the prophet Mohammed. In theory the caliph is the leader of the entire Muslim community. They want to unite Muslims under this Caliphate by force.\n\...
Salt and ice - Why the burning sensation?!	[ "When salt meets ice it lowers the freezing point of the water. The result is super cold water. This is why salt is used to melt ice on roads, and why you use salt and ice to make icecream. \n\nThe reason is that the salt goofs up the formation of ice crystals, making it much harder for the water molecules to line ...
Why do all currencies undergo inflation over time?	[ "This is a very broad topic to talk about, however I shall do my best, I've included a tl;dr at the bottom if you want to skip. I've tried to keep it brief but I could literally talk for days about this all in detail. Please let me know if you have questions or disagree with anything I wrote, I love talking about t...
Why is it so hard to make friends after you turn 25?	[ "The biggest factor is opportunity. Young people are almost always set up in large groups due to school. This also happens at a time in their lives when they are very open minded. As you grow older your personality tends to solidify and you tend to judge other people more solidly then when you are young. \n\nYou al...
What causes the attraction to "odd" physical traits? My attraction to slightly gapped teeth, for example.	[ "Perhaps you were attracted to someone with this trait earlier in life, and you associate that trait unconsciously with a person who may have shaped your image of an attractive person.\n\nWhat is considered \"attractive\" can change from era to era, and culture to culture. One way or another we are exposed at an e...
why too cold things sometimes are felt like hot things?	[ "For your sensory system something that is very hot vs something that is very cold is very similar response. You get the same systems responding to both situations. Your body thinks a cold burn and a hot burn are the same thing because they both equally suck from an evolutionary point of view.", "Your skin has ne...
How a gas pump knows when my gas tank is full	[ "[From Wikipedia](_URL_0_):\n\n > Most modern pumps have an auto cut-off feature that stops the flow when the tank is full. This is done with a second tube, the sensing tube, that runs from just inside the mouth of the nozzle up to a Venturi pump in the pump handle. A mechanical valve in the pump handle detects thi...
Okay, ELI5. We have the different blood types covered, so how about the difference between whole blood, platelets, and plasma?	[ "During a whole blood donation, donors typically donate a pint of blood. During platelet or plasma donation, your blood is collected and then separated into its components by a machine; the machine keeps the platelets or plasma and returns the rest to you. Your blood stays confined within a single-use sterile tubin...
I have acid reflux. What is happening inside of my body that makes it feel like I am softly belching molten lava?	[ "You are burping up a strong stomach acid and while your stomach has a protective lining, your throath has not.\n\nThe acid is corroding your throath and that feels like belching molten lava." ]
The IMF	[ "The IMF is a board of 187 member nations that has $500billion to fund short term emergency bailouts to countries that could otherwise cause a catastrophic economic collapse. Greece would be prime candidate for a IMF loan right about now.\n\nDecisions are made by voting. Each member nation's vote is weighted accor...
Why do humans only have one hair color, but other mammals, like my dog, have more than one hair colors?	[ "1) When an animal is being hunted, if they blend in well they have a lower chance of being caught. So they will live to pass on their chromosomes and so on and so forth.\n\n[Read about Disruptive selection](_URL_1_)\n\n[Countershading - when an animal's stomache has lighter color](_URL_0_)\n\n[And dog coats!](_URL...
Which countries don't rely on the US for their internet?	[ "Net neutrality won't really affect other countries. Comcast, Verizon don't control the backbone and messing with the backbone would quickly get America as a whole thrown off the internet.\n\nAs a general rule most big/wealthy countries control their own internet. China for instance blocks most foreign web sites fo...
Why are American right wing politicians and citizens so adamant about denying climate change?	[ "1. If the government concludes that man-made climate change is a real thing, and a problem, then they will probably change policies in order to respond.\n\n2. Some of these policy changes will probably decrease the amount of fossil fuels Americans consume, and others will probably require significant changes to ca...
The difference between lager, ale, beer, and more(?)	[ "There are a bunch of different alcoholic drinks that are made from barley (sometimes with other ingredients). There are two key distinctions that are relevant to the terms you've named: ale vs beer, and ale vs lager. (Notice that \"ale\" does double duty here, and has two different meanings.)\n\nIn the ale vs beer...
Why ejaculation feels better the longer you last?	[ "Because your brain has more time to \"set things in place\" - orgasms are partly chemical and partly electrical.", "Well I think this is more of a mental thing. Usually when we last longer that must mean that we pleasured our partner better giving us that initial satisfaction followed by the second satisfaction ...
Why do I get addicted to stupid idling games like Cookie Clicker?	[ "because they are:\n\n1) simple\n2) engaging\n3) rewarding\n\nIt is my personal theory that if you make something be all three of these things that people will do it - it doesn't matter what it is. Games are just conducive to being these three things.\n\nNow just because something isn't all three doesn't mean peopl...
In what sense have creditors been "pillaging" Greece for the past five years?	[ "To make a long, complicated story short: external investment (via debt) is necessary in order to maintain a functioning government in Greece. No investment, the government has no funds to operate, and falls apart completely. \n\nBecause capital (needed for investment) is globally mobile, investors are not in a sit...
What led to the "Top 1%" economic gap? And compared to how the general population perceives it, what is the actual economic spread? Is the government doing anything about this?	[ "This is not a new phenomenon. The [power curve](_URL_1_) has shown up in economics and various other disciplines again and again. This was first analyzed in a scholarly context by Vilfredo Pareto, who in 1896 noted that [80% of the land in Italy was owned by 20% of the population.](_URL_2_) Research and simulation...
Do local news anchors only work a few hours a day, or what else are they doing? What are some of their job responsibilities besides presenting the news for an hour?	[ "These days news anchors do other things. They report, they do appearances, they write copy and web scripts. They shoot and edit franchise pieces. Maybe if it's a top 20 market they will only anchor but that's rare these days. \n\nStill, producers do 99% of the work.", "Been in tv for 17 years. It varies widely....
Why aren't chapters still added to the bible? What would somebody have to do to get something added to it?	[ "They do add new chapters to the bible. The mormons added a bunch for instance. The problem is that not everyone is on board with that so new sects form." ]
What is the difference between asthma and bronchitis?	[ "Symptom wise they are pretty similar. From a health care professionals standpoint, bronchitis would be more acute and caused by an infection or such (unless it's chronic bronchitis, which is confusing) and asthma would be a chronic condition. Physiologically, bronchitis and asthma both have inflammation involved b...
Belly Button Fluff please	[ "Google this, there are scientific studies.\n\nThe lint comes from your underwear. Studies traced the origins of the fibers. They get there by mechanical motion of your body movements, through the hair in your groin and on your belly. That's right, underwear fibers get shimmied up your front from rubbing on your ha...
Why are there no Wikipedia pages on famous medieval jesters?	[ "Apparently your Google/Wiki search talents are awful.\n\n[Archibald Armstrong](_URL_2_)\n\n[William Sommers](_URL_1_)\n\n[Robert Armin](_URL_0_)" ]
What happens if an astronaut aboard the ISS should need immediate surgery (ie: Appendicitis)?	[ "There are various medicines on board that they could use, as well as consulting with doctors on earth. If those didn't help, there are emergency Dearborn procedures. A spare Soyuz is kept docked to the ISS for emergency situations, such as medical emergencies, or meteoroids. So if necessary, they could try to retu...
How can a huge statistic such as the world population be even remotely accurate?	[ "Well, governments do. They issue birth certificates and death certificates. Of course it's not totally accurate but the census teams do a lot of research to estimate how many records are missing and figure out the margin of error. That's included in the estimated population.", "What is your definition of \"re...
How do our bodies "Naturally" wake up with no alarm, nobody mowing their lawn outside etc?	[ "Your body has what's called Circadian Rhythm. It determines basically when you sleep and when you eat but is affected by the sun and your environment and any number of other factors. Even more basically it tells your body's metabolism when to work and when to chill out. If you've been sleeping too long your body w...
Why sometimes when you hang a towel or jacket, it slides or falls off many hours later?	[ "Probably ghosts. \n\n\nOr maybe just some air flow, the air conditioner kicks on. \n\nOr potentially if its a wet towel, the water collects to the bottom and redistributes weight. \n\nOr potentially its just moving very very slowly to start with until it drifts far enough to start moving quickly. \n\nBasically th...
Short selling. How can you make money betting against a stock?	[ "If I told you I was going out of town and could pick up something you wanted, I could ask for the money up front. We both know what it's worth now. However, when I actually get there, the price has dropped, and I just pocket the difference.", "When you short sell a stock, you borrow someone else's shares of the ...
How can a 300m wide comet hitting Earth be so catastrophic?	[ "Because it has a lot of kinetic energy. Drop a bullet on your hand from six inches and it won't do any damage, shoot a bullet at your hand and it will FSU.", "The initial impact will generate a huge amount of heat, a plasma field in fact, that will literally engulf and vaporize virtually everything to the horizo...
How do vacuum cleaners work?	[ "They don't create a vacuum. They work just like a leaf-blower, but in reverse. The bag in the vacuum cleaner let's air through so the garbage get's trapped in the bag and the air is released out of the machine. Just put your hand on top of the part that makes the noise and you can feel (often warm) air coming out ...
Why are x-rays harmful?	[ "X-rays are, in essence, very stong sunlight. When you bask in sunlight, it warms you. Now, imagine light much more powerful than that. It'd do more than just slightly warm you up.\n\nThe most harmful thing in x-rays is that they damage your DNA. Most of the time it's okay, as the cells can either repair the damage...
is there any actual benefit to natural diamonds versus cubic zirconia?	[ "You know that a cubic zirconia is not an artificial diamond, right? It's just that in jewelry it can be cut to resemble a diamond, even though it doesn't have the exact same properties (eg. lower refractive index).", "Well you don't use cubic zirconia industrially the way you use diamond. There are much harder m...
How did the nation of Israel come to be?	[ "There had been a movement among certain Jews for decades to re-establish a Jewish state in the Middle East. As a result of this movement, Jews had established population beach heads in many parts of British Palestine. Before World War II, and after it ended, there was major turmoil in the region between the Briti...
The Euro is an "E" (€). The Chinese Yuan is a "Y" (¥). The Korean Won is a "W" (₩). Most currencies' symbols are based on the first letter of their currency but then why is the dollar sign a $?	[ "> The sign is first attested in British, American, Canadian, Mexican and other Spanish American business correspondence in the 1770s, referring to the Spanish American peso,[1][2] also known as \"Spanish dollar\" or \"piece of eight\" in British North America, which provided the model for the currency that the Un...
Why was the concept of the month developed/accepted? Why don't we count the date as "Day 275" of the year, for example?	[ "The concept of the month was based on the cycles of the moon, which last about 29 days. The English word \"month\" comes from the word \"moon\".", "I feel stupid as hell now, I knew that already" ]
Why was Canada involved in WWII if they were never directly attacked?	[ "Because the UK was. Britain pulled the majority of their former colonies into the war; remember, Canada did and still does share a head of state with the UK.", "Because we're not a bunch of cowards who need to be attacked to do the right thing.\n\n-- Canada [In a friendly, joking way]", "And possibly also beca...
What is 'visual theater'?	[ "This is not a standard term, so you are not going to get a good explanation here. Sometimes artists just invent terms." ]
How music is written	[ "Ah, David Bowie. Is there anything he can't do? Okay, so to try and answer your questions: \n\n(1) Do artists just mess around with their instruments until they hear noises that they like?\n\nAbsolutely. For instance, I play guitar, drums and piano and when I was a bit younger, I used to just get really stoned, or...
Why is 80 proof (40% alcohol by volume) the standard alcohol content in most hard liquors?	[ "When a similar question was asked [last year](_URL_0_), it was shown that it's in fact regulated in the US that liquor is bottled at [\"not less than 80 proof.\"](_URL_1_) \n\nMost vendors, therefore, tend to dilute alcohol to the minimum required by law in a major market (that is, 80 proof or 40% ABV), though the...
How do antidepressants help if they are capable of causing suicidal thoughts?	[ "Caveat that this is ELI5, but this topic is not easily explainable in simple terms.\n\nAntidepressants do not help. This has been proven by the drug company's own trials. Dr. Irving Kirsch has shown that for everything but the most severe depression, the drug companies' own studies show that antidepressants are no...
Why did the Troubles happen in Northern Ireland, and why was it at times so violent?	[ "To understand the modern troubles, and to appreciate why it was so violent you have to look at the history as far back as the 12th century when Ireland was invaded by the Normans. This was the start of 'direct English rule' this established a deep running hatred in many native of the native Irish people, who felt ...
Why do people have such naturally fragile feet (requiring shoes) when other animals do not.	[ "We don't have naturally fragile feet. Most of us have unnaturally fragile feet because of the invention of footwear.", "We've essentially conditioned our feet to be fragile because we're always protecting them. Our feet would become calloused and much, much tougher if one day we decided to stop wearing shoes al...
Why are today's weight standards different from the mid 1900s?	[ "There's nothing particularly wrong with BMI. It's a rough guide to an appropriate weight. BMI was never designed to be accurate; it was designed to be an easy to use guide.\n\nIn general, nothing much has changed to require a change to BMI guidance since the 1950s. There are a few more people who do serious body b...
What Michael Eisner did at Disney and why people didn't like it	[ "This is gonna be a text wall, so bear with me. \n\nTL;DR: Michael Eisner took the company in a direction that almost killed the feature animation division, in a nutshell. \n\n---\n\nBy the time he stepped down in the mid 2000s, Disney Feature Animation was becoming a joke, releasing tired, money spinning sequels o...
How do humans still evolve?	[ "Well an important thing to remember is evolution doesn't have to be exclusively beneficial traits.\n\nIt's always been my opinion that science and modern medicine will negatively affect the \"evolution\" of humans, and only further scientific advancements will be able to cancel out the negatives it originally caus...
How does a CPU work? Please use simple metaphors for each subsystem.	[ "[Check out this video.](_URL_0_) It explains not only the CPU but also how it interacts with the RAM." ]
Why emotions from suppressed sources feel much stronger than regular emotions	[ "Your sister makes your life worse, by continuing to piss you off over a period of years. That has a much greater effect on you than some random annoyance in your life that is perhaps only going to happen once. It is oppressive to know that you will continue to be troubled by your sister for some indefinite time ...
Why does water taste different after sitting for a few days?	[ "Bacteria and other microbes are everywhere all the time, and they need water to grow. So what you're tasting is a melange of those microbes and the waste they produce as they grow. They've been floating through the air or transferred by some other means (e.g., your mouth and hands), or may have been in the water ...
What is a Soliton, in regards to physics?	[ "They are specific shapes of waves that can travel very far without dispersing like regular waves. Solitons exist in many different mediums of wave, e.g. water waves in canal or light pulses in optical fiber." ]

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